National Educational Technology Standards-Students 3 Research and Information Fluency c. Students evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks
Locate and evaluate three websites for the Collaborative Mini Unit you are creating with your team. The websites may focus on content or instructional strategies. Each member of the team should evaluate three websites which are NOT the same as the websites evaluated by the other team members.
Evaluate each website with the following criteria:
§Site has a clear purpose that fits the topic
§Author or organization that created the site is identified and qualified
§Site contains accurate factual information or opinions that are supported with facts
§Site provides fair, balanced, and unbiased information
§Content is appropriate for students’ grade level (readability and appropriate topic)
§No advertizing or minimal advertizing that is clearly differentiated from content
§Information is current and frequently updated
§Information is well organized and presented clearly
§Site includes references that can be checked.
§Site includes visuals, sound, or animation that enhance the information
§Site loads quickly and provides any needed plug-ins or software
§Links to other sites are current and work properly
§Site includes interactive features that enhance student engagement
Step One. For each website include the following information
Unit Topic
Subject Area
Grade Level
Website
URL
Type of website domain (.gov, .edu,. .org, .com)
Effect of source domain on accuracy of content
Step Two. Review the Rubric for Evaluating Websites. For each website, provide a rating for each criteria (3-High Quality 2-Acceptable Quality 1-Poor Quality ) Use the Likert type rating scale to record your answers.
Rubric for Evaluating Websites
Criteria
3 High Quality
2 Acceptable Quality
1 Poor Quality
Purpose
Site has clear purpose that fits topic
Purpose of the site seems to fit the topic but could be clarified
Purpose of the site is unclear or does not fit the topic
Author
Author (s) and strong qualifications are clearly identified
Author(s) are clearly identified but qualifications could be stronger
Author is not identified or author’s qualifications are missing
Accuracy
Accurate factual information or opinions supported with facts
Information contains a few factual errors, most opinions are supported with facts
Information contains numerous factual errors and opinions are unsupported
Fairness
Information is presented in a fair, balanced, and unbiased manner
Information is presented fairly; bias is minimal and easy to detect
Information is one-sided and very biased
Suitable Content
Readability and topic are appropriate for grade level
Readability or topic may be somewhat advanced for grade level
Readability is much too difficult and topic is unsuitable for grade level
Advertizing
There is no advertizing
Advertizing is minimal and is not a distraction
Too much advertizing distracts the reader
Currency
Information is current and frequently updated
Information seems current but could be updated more frequently
Information is not current and no information when it was last updated
Organization
Information is well organized and clearly presented
Information is organized but could be presented more clearly
Information is very disorganized and unclear
References
Information is clearly cited with references that can be checked
Information is cited; a few references are missing information
Information is not cited
Special Effects
High quality visuals, sound, animation enhance information
Visuals, sound, or animation are of average quality
Site is boring or visuals, sound, animation are poorly designed & distracting
Technical Quality
Loads quickly, provides needed plug-ins or software, links work properly
Loads somewhat slowly, a few dead links
Loads very slowly, needed plug-ins or software is missing, numerous dead links
Interactive Features
Interactive features enhance student engagement & creativity
Interactive features engage students
No interactive features.
Sample:
Unit Topic: Slave narratives
Subject Area: US history
Grade Level: 8-11
Website: American Memory: Born in Slavery Slave Narratives
URL: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html
Type of website domain (.gov, .edu,. .org, .com): .gov
Effect of source domain on accuracy of content: The slave narratives on the Library of Congress website were recorded by the Federal Writers’ Project during the Great Depression. The collection includes over 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves. The website is easily navigable by middle and high school students. The slave narratives vary in style and substance depending on the interviewer.
Criteria
3
2
1
High Quality
Effective Quality
Poor Quality
Purpose
*
Author
*
Accuracy
*
Fairness
*
Suitable Content
*
Advertizing
*
Currency
*
Organization
*
References
*
Special Effects
*
Technical Quality
*
Interactive Features
*
SAVE your answers using this format: LastName,First Initial_Evaluating Websites
Evaluating Websites
National Educational Technology Standards-Students
3 Research and Information Fluency
c. Students evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks
Locate and evaluate three websites for the Collaborative Mini Unit you are creating with your team. The websites may focus on content or instructional strategies. Each member of the team should evaluate three websites which are NOT the same as the websites evaluated by the other team members.
Evaluate each website with the following criteria:
Step One. For each website include the following information
Unit Topic
Subject Area
Grade Level
Website
URL
Type of website domain (.gov, .edu,. .org, .com)
Effect of source domain on accuracy of content
Step Two. Review the Rubric for Evaluating Websites. For each website, provide a rating for each criteria (3-High Quality 2-Acceptable Quality 1-Poor Quality ) Use the Likert type rating scale to record your answers.
Rubric for Evaluating Websites
Sample:
Unit Topic: Slave narratives
Subject Area: US history
Grade Level: 8-11
Website: American Memory: Born in Slavery Slave Narratives
URL: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/snhtml/snhome.html
Type of website domain (.gov, .edu,. .org, .com): .gov
Effect of source domain on accuracy of content: The slave narratives on the Library of Congress website were recorded by the Federal Writers’ Project during the Great Depression. The collection includes over 2,300 first-person accounts of slavery and 500 black-and-white photographs of former slaves. The website is easily navigable by middle and high school students. The slave narratives vary in style and substance depending on the interviewer.
SAVE your answers using this format: LastName,First Initial_Evaluating Websites
Post to cohort wiki http://www.gthy2011.wikispaces.com on the page for your team.